Dicking about with crap old cars

It’s cheaper than Waxoyl :grin:

5 Likes

There’s a couple of items there that are quite alarming. Good luck. I hope it all works out well for you in the long run.

Anyone run a car with the 1.9TDI? Always admired this lump. Of course Alison has a related engine:

So a quick change of front wheels and I’d say most of the vibration / steering feel seems to have been fixed.

Still feels a bit floaty but then I’ve just come from a modified Clio with roll centre/bumpsteer correction kit, coilovers and power flex black series bushes so that doesn’t help.

Ignore the dirt and the fact it was raining meant I couldn’t be bothered to change the rear wheels over.

3 Likes

If the shell is solid, you’re winning. All the rest of it is do-able, with some faff and expense obviously.

1 Like

Had a PD130 in an A4 years ago. Great engine, really suited the car.

The 4 pot was still clattery but a lot less gruff than the 3 in an A2.

1 Like

I love the gruff nature and 3 cylinder growl in the A2, it’s right out of whack with the car’s looks and gives it real character to drive :heart_eyes:

Feels like a small aero-egg shaped tank or something :joy:

2 Likes

I find it a bit obvious when driving around town but it hushes right down at speed.

Agree re the aero-egg tank!

2 Likes

Clio and faff is a partnership set in stone.

1 Like

“Papa!” “Nicole”
Très intéressant

2 Likes

Va va voom

I had a Seat Ibiza sport 1.9tdi 130. Was a great car. Basically the same as the Fabia vrs

1 Like

Starting digging into some of the issues with the Clio.

First thing to look at was the blower motor. Conveniently located behind the scuttle panel with an access panel which means you don’t have to remove the wiper arms.

Undoing the main connector to the resistor shows some melted connections :sob:. When I viewed the car it very briefly worked on speed 4 so hoping all the other wiring is ok and just corroded connections and bad resistor drew too much current and melted it. Going to have to find a parts car and get the connector spliced back in with a new resistor. Blower motor seems to work connected directly to a spare battery but might replace it in case it’s part of the issue.

Next was removing the dash top to get the clocks out to see why the airbag light isn’t illuminating with ignition on. On removing the a pillar trims which hold the dash in place I found this keypad tucked behind it :face_with_peeking_eye: Mhmm pressing one of the buttons made the led illuminate so it’s still getting power. On removing the dash top found some interesting wiring. Some sort of immobiliser is my guess. Now the car starts with no funny business so do I just leave it be and pretend I didn’t see it or potentially cause an issue trying to remove it but rather an issue now rather than in Europe when I plan to drive there this summer.

Dash clocks removed and a screw is missing from the back of it so maybe apart before to remove the bulb. I’ll find out soon enough.






1 Like

The old classic, putting some electrical tape over the led. Will probably be Wednesday before I can put them back in the car to check. A proper tester still would’ve failed the car for the airbag not coming on before going out.

I am trying to work out why you bought this wreck in the first place.
Even doing all the work yourself (And I won’t count this as a cost as it seems to be asome sort of masochistic hobby) if you budget in all the costs to get this into a decent condition does it make any sense at all?

1 Like

I’m still trying to figure it out myself.

Well maybe not, it’s sort of my ideal/dream affordable hot hatch, and these early phase 1 cars are getting harder to find. Not a lot of them were actually built, only 116 uk registered cars in this colour and all are as near 25/26 years old now and unfortunately the rust has set in and killed a lot of them and loads turned into track cars.

A wreck is maybe a bit harsh on it. A lot has been spent on sorting the rust issues and doing bodywork on it about 5 years ago so that side of things should be good for another 10/15 years. I can and don’t mind doing mechanical stuff but would have to pay to get bodywork done and it isn’t cheap! certainly a lot more than I paid for it

All the rest had sort of been neglected or not been done quiet right, and then I’m quite fussy to what parts are on them and how it feels to drive so even if work has been done to brakes etc I’ll swap them to what I feel comfortable using which doesn’t help.

Around 10 years ago they really weren’t worth much at all to the point that any sort of maintenance on them was the cost or more of the cars value. Even now they can still be a commitment. £1400 for a cambelt at a specialist.

It’s just another hobby for me. Like hi-fi you spend the money and you enjoy it. A car isn’t just something to get from a-b in for me equally it’s about the joy of driving and the it’s the reward of putting in the work to make the car right.

7 Likes

As my hi-fi is worth considerably more than my car, which is strictly for getting from a-b and I have no attachment to at all, You may understand why I asked the question :grinning_face:

Thanks for posting :+1:

1 Like

I’m not a car guy but I believe that an old colleague had one of these. They were sufficiently scarce at the time that he travelled from Edinburgh down to somewhere in the midlands to pick it up.

We were all like “why on earth would you go to so much trouble for a second-hand hatchback?”. So we all trooped outside and he gunned the engine a bit before basically lifting off in it, at which point there was a lot of muttering of “okay I get it now” :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

So in this case, yes, I think I get it.

2 Likes

@Rab1991

Your jam jar is among the greats:

1 Like